Watch a Fish Transform From Animal to Candle

The last great eulachon fishery on Earth is found in British Columbia near the mouth of the Nass River, where the fish return to spawn each year. Eulachon are a species of smelt, known to the indigenous Nisga'a people of the Nass as halimotkw, which translates to ""salvation fish."" Both a foodstuff and a delicacy for the Nisga'a, eulachon today are showing signs of making a comeback after their runs began to collapse in the 1990s. In this video, we get a look at Nisga'a processing the eulachon inside the ""stink box,"" where the fish ferment in vats, and grease from its fatty skin is created. The eulachon’s buttery flesh is so rich in oil that a dried fish will actually light and burn like a candle.

(via: The Kids Should See This)